UCONN FOOTBALL: Huskies keep bowl hopes alive with upset of Rutgers

David Borges, Register Staff

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, November 26, 2011

EAST HARTFORD -- Which team was playing for a share of its first Big East championship, and which was simply clinging to a chance to remain bowl-eligible? It was hard to tell on Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field.

UConn kept its hopes for a .500 season, and with that a potential bowl invitation, alive by thoroughly dismantling Rutgers in every way, shape and form before a Senior Day crowd of 37,857. The Huskies (5-6, 3-3 Big East) rolled to a 40-22 win over Rutgers that wasn't nearly as close as the final score might indicate.

While ending the Scarlet Knights' bid for a Big East title and any chance for a BCS bowl bid, the Huskies also extinguished memories from last week's disappointing, 34-20 home loss to Louisville.

"I'm obviously proud of the way the team responded after a disappointing performance a week ago," coach Paul Pasqualoni said. "I thought we had a very good week of practice. I'm proud of the way we reacted and responded to adversity."

The Huskies forced six Rutgers turnovers and held the Scarlet Knights to 26 yards rushing. Lyle McCombs rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns and Scott McCummings also rushed for a pair of TDs.

Rutgers turned the ball over three times in the first half, all leading to UConn touchdowns -- one of them directly on Kendall Reyes' 9-yard fumble return. It was the Huskies' third fumble recovery for a touchdown this year, setting a single-season program record.

Pasqualoni said the Huskies looked at themselves, rather than looking for blame elsewhere, after the Louisville loss.

"We looked in the mirror instead of looking out the window," he said. "When you can look at the guy in the mirror and take some responsibility and do something about it, to me, that's the definition of toughness."

Added linebacker Yawin Smallwood: "We looked at ourselves, we weren't trying to point fingers. We tried to figure out what we needed to do to win this game."

Rutgers fell to 8-4, 4-3.

The Huskies' domination -- and/or Rutgers' baffling ineptitude -- started early, when Scarlet Knight running back Jawan Jamison fumbled the ball away at his own 24 on the game's third play from scrimmage. Two plays later, McCombs was sprinting into the end zone untouched from 10 yards out.

On Rutgers' next possession, Chas Dodd was picked off by UConn's Ty-Meer Brown at the Scarlet Knight 40, setting up a six-play scoring drive capped by McCummings' five-yard run.

Midway through the second quarter, Reyes scooped up Dodd's fumbled snap at the Rutgers 9 and rumbled into the end zone. Rutgers responded with an 80-yard drive aided by a key pass interference penalty on Blidi Wreh-Wilson.

But UConn countered with a David Teggart field goal with a second left in the half for a 24-10 lead at intermission.

The thorough domination continued in the latter half, when Nick Williams returned the opening kickoff 54 yards and McCombs did the rest of the work, capping a three-play drive with a 4-yard run.

"We work really hard on special teams," Pasqualoni said. "It's a big part of our meeting time and our practice time every day. When you don't perform well on special teams ... that's as important as offense or defense."

McCummings scored on a 14-yard run with 10:13 left in the third quarter. The only surprise was that Teggart's extra-point kick was blocked by Justin Francis -- the first missed extra-point attempt in Teggart's career, spanning 128 attempts.

"I had a nice little streak going," Teggart said, with a smile. "It would have been nice to make that one there. But hey, we won, so..."

Teggart atoned with a 47-yard field goal later in the period.

Rutgers replaced Dodd with Gary Nova in the third quarter and Nova engineered a pair of touchdown drives, the latter on a 92-yard scoring hook-up with Brandon Coleman. But it was too little, too late for the Scarlet Knights.

Junior defensive end Trevardo Williams had four sacks on the day, giving him 12½ on the season.

"Trevardo has a knack for getting off the ball," Pasqualoni said. "He's starting to get really comfortable with what he can do in the pass rush."

It was the final home game in the careers of UConn's 13-man senior class, which has been to a bowl game each season so far -- including the school's first BCS bid -- and two Big East championships. And it doesn't have to be over yet -- if the Huskies can win at Cincinnati on Saturday, it will still be in line for a bowl invitation.

"They can leave a tremendous legacy here," Pasqualoni said. "In a transition year with a new coach coming in, nothing's been easy for this team. Yet these seniors have found a way to be outstanding leaders, come back every week and fight hard. They still have, obviously, a little way to go here."